Least Concern Birds

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareola

Wood Sandpiper eats insects and aquatic animals in African wetlands and shores.

Scientific name	Tringa glareola
Swahili name	Mchongoma wa msitu
Conservation status	Least Concern
Class	Aves
Order	Ciconiiformes
Family	Scolopacidae
Size	Male: approximately 40-50 grams; Female: approximately 40-50 grams

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How to identify

Small, slender body with long green legs; dorsal feathers with dark spots and stripes; chest with fine spots; white underwing visible in flight; bill slender and slightly downcurved

Habitat

Wetlands, shallow water edges, marshes, rice paddies, and riverbanks

Diet

Omnivorous, primarily feeding on insects, small invertebrates, and aquatic organisms

When it is active

Diurnal, more active at dawn and dusk

Where it lives

Breeds in Europe and northern Asia; winters in eastern Africa including Kenya and the Masai Mara region, as well as parts of South and Southeast Asia

How to spot it

Observe in shallow wetland areas at dawn and dusk, use binoculars or telephoto lenses to capture feeding and flight behavior

Photography tips

Use soft morning light, select backgrounds with wetland water reflections, use telephoto lenses to capture details and flight poses

Threats

Habitat loss and wetland degradation; agricultural expansion and water pollution

Similar species

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) has darker, almost black upperparts and dark underwings; Wood Sandpiper has brown upperparts with white spots and pale underwings.

📖 how to spot the wood sandpiper on safari